Changes will soon be coming to Downtown Pueblo to help fight vandalism

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO)- Multiple businesses in Downtown Pueblo reached out to KRDO13 after their stores were vandalized. They say some repairs will cost them thousands of dollars. KRDO13 went to talk with city leaders about concerns business owners have.

Renew Medical Spa, Laser, and Wellness in downtown Pueblo was targeted by vandals again. This time the damage to repair the windows will cost the owner, Charmayne Trujillo, hundreds of dollars, she said. It's gotten to the point where Trujillo doesn't know what to do with her business. 

"It's not getting any better. Seems to be getting worse. There's times where, you know, you shout out, and I'm like, would it be easier for me just to go injecting do laser treatments at somebody else's business or even move my business over there?" said Trujillo.

KRDO13 took those concerns to Mayor Heather Graham.

"I think that's devastating, you know. I'm also a small business owner," said Mayor Graham. "And so I'll tell, you know, all of the different business owners in Pueblo, that I feel for you. And that it's not just the downtown area. It's happening all over Pueblo."

Mayor Graham also told us about a new program that was designed to help business owners in Downtown Pueblo deal with this issue.

"So I partnered with the downtown association using the mayor's contingency fund to give them a sponsorship in which they will be asking their members who are in the area, if they would like the city to come in and place the retractable, gates," said Mayor Graham. "Then public works, our city department will go out and, take the measurements, and then we'll be ordering the gates and installing them for the businesses."

Joe Latino is the representative for District 2, where all of the vandalism is happening, said that something needs to be done. He is working on some ideas that could possibly help with the crime that's happening in his district.

"Between here in Walsenburg, there's a penitentiary that's vacant. And maybe it's time for us to to look into purchasing that, that penitentiary and putting these people there," said Latino.

According to Latino, real-time cameras will also be installed in the downtown area.

Rich Lane, the owner at Seabel's Gourmet Shop & Boutique, has been a victim of vandalism and theft, and said one of the real-time cameras will be installed next week.

"So we're excited about that. It's been a couple months in the making. It's going to be a big relief to have that camera installed one, because it's going to be real time access for the crime center. But two, hopefully it'll be a deterrent and that if something does happen, we'll be able to catch whether it's a car an individual or a group of people," said Lane.